9-7-17 Newz// Appraisers Helping Appraisers, SBA needs appraisers, It’s OK to Say No

By on September 7, 2017   /   appraisal how to, Mortgage applications, Strange homes, unusual homes   /   Leave a comment
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Help Texas Appraisers Affected by Hurricane Harvey!

This fundraising campaign is co-sponsored by Mark Skapinetz (What’s It Worth Appraisal Services), Joe Mier (Joseph Mier & Associates), Lori Noble (The Noble Appraiser), Jonathan Miller (Miller Samuel Inc. Real Estate Appraisers & Consultants) and Phil Crawford (Voice of Appraisal).
As of 6pm 9/6/17 (West Coast time), at least two appraisers have donated the cost of an appraisal fee. 125 appraisers had contributed a total of $9,646 in the past 5 days.
If you have been affected by storms, you can apply to these folks to be considered to receive funding:
Mark Skapinetz:  wiwapp@gmail.com
Phil Crawford:  info@voiceofappraisal.com
Lori Noble:  lori@trpcg.com
Thanks to Dave Towne for these email addresses!
More info at:
Click here to donate
My comments: I prefer to give to people I know as it very satisfying. I started doing it 5-6 years ago. A former employee of mine became disabled and unable to work. I sent her $200 a month until she passed last year. A musician friend (my mentor), who is 82 years old, was trying to live on a small Social Security check. He sent me a Christmas card that mentioned some of his paintings for sale. I purchased a few for $400. Recently another musician friend in San Francisco was being evicted from his apartment after living there for over 25 years. I have been helping him send his records, CDs, etc. to friends around the country by using my UPS account.
I don’t know anyone personally affected by the Harvey disaster, but I contributed $100 as to help appraisers directly. I prefer to do this instead of donating to a charity. I also donate to charities, particularly local ones. I have my Amazon Smile account set up to automatically donate to the local Meals on Wheels. My living trust includes a large donation to my local NPR station, which I listen to every day.

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7-20-17 Newz// Fannie data, USPS gyrocopters, Costar data

By on July 20, 2017   /   appraisal business, Collateral Underwriter, data, E&O, Fannie, mortgage loan volume, state appraiser regulators, Strange homes, unusual homes, weird homes, weird properties   /   Leave a comment
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When the U.S. Postal Service Used Gyrocopters to Deliver the Mail The flying machines hopped from roof to roof of post offices.

Excerpt: Sensing opportunity, the United States Postal Service-then the U.S. Post Office Department-decided to invest in the new technology. In 1937, Congress appropriated money to fund a series of experiments on autogyro mail delivery, and within a year the first flight-from Bethesda, Maryland to Washington, D.C.-was made.

My comment: Check out the photos (no videos in 1937). Very interesting!!

Why Fannie Mae Shouldn’t Keep Data Secret

Excerpt: Today’s lenders have access to massive amounts of data. According to (Richard) Hagar, government lenders have access to every recorded sale in most every county across the U.S. via information providers like CoreLogic. He believes appraisal adjustments should be cross-checked against sales metrics of the five million home sales that occur each year.
However, appraisers typically use Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for residential appraising. Data provided by MLS may vary from information shown by providers like CoreLogic. MLS has more detailed information that county records don’t contain. Oftentimes, though, MLS contains errors or missing data. In other words, both types of systems have errors, but not necessarily the same errors.
My comment: Controversial topic!! Fannie says that they want appraisers to be objective, not using Fannie’s data. For example, appraisers changing their building sketches to match public records sq.ft. to avoid underwriter/review hassles. I remember CMDC books (in california) back in the 1980s where appraisers submitted the first pages of their appraisals to go into a shared appraiser database. Before appraisers could get MLS access. Seems like that was okay…

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7-6-17 Newz: Tech Trends in 1776 .Arms-length transactions .Zillow vs. McMansions

By on July 6, 2017   /   appraisal, Strange homes, unusual homes   /   Leave a comment
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8 Hottest Tech Trends in 1776

Just For Fun!! Take a break from writing up those darn reports. Is there any appraiser who likes writing reports. Not me ;>

Excerpt: At that time, the “best” technology available was the printing press and the “best” social network required the use of “word of mouth” in Public Houses… But while all this was going on, there were a bunch of entrepreneurs and a few startups that changed the world.
  1. Underwater warfare
  2. Telling accurate time
  3. Underwater exploration
  4. Indoor plumbing
  5. Kitchen stove
  6. Electricity
  7. Mechanical motion
  8. Multitasking
My comment: check out this great article!! It is only 2 days after July 4, so I decided to include this very interesting article by Shelly Palmer one of my favorite tech writers!

Arm’s-Length Transactions, Market Value and Related Parties, Part 2 By Richard Heyn, SRA

Excerpt: So while a non-arm’s length transaction may be a red flag that can point to an above or below market value transaction, the bottom line is that ALTs may or may not take place at market value.
Another area of misconception among appraisers regarding ALTs involves the application of the term “related parties.” Unfortunately, the term “related parties” is not defined in any authoritative appraisal-related literature that I am aware. The term is, however, defined in accounting standards and by the Internal Revenue Service, most notably in the IRS guidelines for exchanges of like-kind properties.

My comment: the excerpt above is from part 2, above is the link for part 1. I have read several long threads online about this topic. Lots of confusion. Rich’s articles are Most Excellent. Read These Articles!

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6-28-17 Newz// Octagon house craze, Reproducibility Crisis, AMC Technology Efficient?

By on June 29, 2017   /   AMCs, appraisal, appraisal management company, Mortgage applications, Strange homes, unusual homes   /   Leave a comment
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Octagon House Craze in the 1800s

Excerpt: If you were a forward-thinking individualist in 1800s America, building an eight-sided abode was a great way to show it. The octagon house was a cutting-edge design at the time, believed to be a more efficient use of space, energy, and cost than the conventional square.

… Thousands of these geometric oddities were built by the time the trend hit its peak in the 1860s.

My comment: Wow!! I have never appraised an octagon house, but have seen a few from the outside. Have measured octagon turrets on Victorians.

Top cities where the number of million dollar homes is skyrocketing

Excerpt: In large swaths of the country, a cool million has mostly come to represent the new standard for good, upper-middle-class housing. “In more markets than ever before, the million-dollar mark is the new benchmark for that green lawn and white picket fence,” says Javier Vivas, manager of the realtor.com® economic research team.
  1. Denver CO
  2. Santa Rosa CA
  3. Boulder CO
  4. Truckee CA
Click here get the full list and read the comments on the cities – very interesting!!

My comment: In my small city in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a median price of around $850,000, many properties are listed just under $1,000,000 and sell over list. Starter homes are $750,000 to $800,000 (2 bedroom/1 bath, built before 1940, maybe updated kitchen and bath, 1000 sq.ft.) No, we did not get on the list. Already have too many over $1,000,000.. I am soo glad I bought my  house in 1985 for $135,000!!

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6-22-17 Newz//McMansions .Credit Risk Increasing .Freddie – No Appraisals

By on June 23, 2017   /   AMCs, Appraisal fees, appraisal management company, mortgage loan volume, unusual homes   /   Leave a comment
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What If McMansions Ruled the World?

Excerpt: Whether on the gleefully snarky blog McMansion Hell or in haunting photos of cul-de-sacs abandoned during the recession, McMansions-those ersatz chateaux of modern suburbia-are frequent targets of urbanists’ ire, derided as symbols of the wastefulness and isolation of suburban sprawl.
But what if the McMansion could be put in the service of urbanism instead?
My comment: Fascinating!!
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Appraiserville

Housingwire Gave Appraisers A Long Overdue Win

By Jonathan Miller
Excerpt: After a snarky trying-to-be-coy blog post that tried to win on a technicality that there was an appraiser shortage, many appraisers, including myself, took to the streets (the comments section) to voice our outrage. It was based on an amazingly misinformed Urban Institute post that doesn’t understand the appraiser role in mortgage lending, which was even more infuriating.
Housing Wire’s editor reached out to Jonathan Miller for the appraisers’ side of the story – He handed our long besieged industry a rare “win, include” and I am grateful for his honesty and for the opportunity to voice my view on their platform.

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6-8-17 Newz// Appraisal Waivers, Blue Bathrooms, Corelogic buys Mercury Network

By on June 8, 2017   /   appraisal business, Appraisal fees, appraisal management company, appraiser shortage, forecast, Mortgage applications, mortgage loan volume, state appraiser regulators, Strange homes, unusual homes, weird properties, zillow   /   Leave a comment
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 The Sunken World Hiding Under the Water’s Surface

27 drowned places that used to be above ground.
Excerpt: here is an entire submerged world hidden just below sea level, largely out of sight to terrestrial beings today. The Earth’s shores are lined with sunken cities, flooded crypts, drowned forests, and submerged structures that have been lost underwater over the millennia, overtaken by nature or human development.

Rising sea levels and flooding caused by earthquakes, landslides, changing tides, melting glaciers, or manmade dams have wiped entire villages off the map. And sometimes, when the water recedes, these submerged cities and landscapes reemerge from the depths, an eerie glimpse at the invisible sunken world.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/lists/sunken-cities-flooded-drowned 

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Appraiser shortage = appraisal waivers??

Excerpt:
Key government agencies finally addressed the critically growing appraisal shortage crisis that’s hampering the mortgage process, highlighting two alternative options to help areas that are facing a shortage.
Particularly, the alternative options are aimed at helping rural areas that are struggling with the availability of state certified and licensed appraisers.

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5-25-17 Newz: Lenders’ AMC problems, Arms-length Transactions, Incredible Private Islands

By on May 25, 2017   /   adjustments, AMCs, appraisal business, Fannie, lender appraisals, mortgage loan volume, unusual home, unusual homes, USPAP, zillow   /   Leave a comment
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3 incredible private islands

Just for Fun – very short video
A few tidbits
– Locations: Key Largo  (FL), Washington state and Long Island NY
– Space for 110 ft. yacht
– Lowest price: $11 million
– Tennis court that doubles as a helicopter pad

http://www.realtor.com/videos/video-the-ultimate-getaway-you-can-own-one-of-these-3-incredible-private-islands/ac74f30c-de71-43ba-bae1-e54d8336a7ae 

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Analyzing the subject’s sales history

By Josh Wailitt
Short video. Worth watching. Check out some of the other videos in his USPAP errors series at www.appraiserelearning.com
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Arm’s-Length Transactions, Part 1

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5-18-17// Newz, AVM/BPO Problems, Castles in America, Cherry Picking Comps

By on May 18, 2017   /   adjustments, AMCs, unusual home, unusual homes, USPAP, weird homes, zillow   /   Leave a comment
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Castles in America

Excerpts:
Roger Declements likes to build his castles the medieval way.
He starts with stone – up to 1,000 tons of it – and then constructs two parallel walls. After years of work, sometimes an entire decade, these walls add up to what he considers “the most advanced, strongest and most comfortable” abode a person can have.
In the United States, where there are no authentic medieval castles, imitation ones are few and far between. But interest in them has grown, in part because of the popularity of books and shows like “Vikings,” “Downton Abbey,” “Game of Thrones” and the Harry Potter series.

My comment: Very interesting article with good photos plus some info on castles in Europe for comparison. FYI – article is in the New York Times, which only allows a few free articles before requiring a subscription.

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Cherry-picking comps & being connected to the neighborhood

By Ryan Lundquist
Excerpts: On paper it looked like value was going to be so much higher. Why? Because comps to the north were easily 10-20% higher, and even Zillow came in $100,000 above the appraisal (ahem). The big cause of such a legitimately lower appraisal boiled down to one thing. Location. Today I want to show a situation where a small section of the neighborhood was blocked off from the rest, and it was a big deal for value. Have a look below and let me know what you think. Anything to add?
Methodology when only 5 sales in 5 years: When appraising something in this section, there were zero sales over the past 2 years and otherwise only 5 sales in the previous 5 years. This means I had to really study older sales to understand how value works…

My comments: Lots of good ideas. Very well written with good analysis and excellent use of graphs and annotated maps. I regularly go back in the past for comps and analysis. Making market conditions adjustments is very easy. I also use percent adjustments, which tend to be stable over time.

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5-11-17 Newz:: Zillow Sued, Value of Views, Portable Architecture

By on May 11, 2017   /   adjustments, AMCs, Appraisal fees, appraisal management company, data, Fannie, humor, lender appraisals, Mortgage applications, mortgage loan volume, Strange homes, unusual home, unusual homes, zillow   /   1 Comment
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Portable Architecture You Can Roll, Wear, Tow, or Float

A sauna on skis and 11 other dwellings made to move.

Excerpt: Some of the examples are ideal for recreation, such as the compact-cute, California-made Golden Gate 2 camper, with a rounded timber frame, portholes, and a spot for a surfboard. For lovers of winter sports, the Nomad Sauna, which was built on a lake in Norway, includes an internal ice-hole for intensely refreshing breaks from the heat.
It is not all fun and games-others are designed for important, practical use. It can also be used to provide shelter during a crisis, or for protection in extreme weather.
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Sleeping lawyer at mortgage fraud trial

Excerpt: A businessman will get a new trial on mortgage fraud charges because his defense attorney was seen sleeping by the judge, witnesses and the federal court jurors who convicted him last year.
U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose ruled James Nassida was denied a fair trial because Stan Levenson dozed during the October trial. Levenson has acknowledged that he fell asleep because he was taking cold medicines that made him drowsy.
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What are views worth?

To figure out the premium that these vistas can command, the realtor.com® data team compared the prices for all the homes for sale on our site that highlight these sought-after panoramas, and then compared them to similar-size properties in adjacent ZIP codes with no view to speak of.

Here are a few:
4. Chicago, IL: Lake Michigan
Median list price for homes with views: $525,000
Killer view premium: 96.8%

1. Manhattan, NY: Central Park
Median list price for homes with views: $3,795,000
Killer view premium: 39.9%

My comment: Percent of value varies widely. Of course, the total dollar amounts vary even more! I love data!!

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4-20-17 Newz//Ocwen Sued, ASA+NAIFA, Dog Mansions, Real Estate Holdout

By on April 27, 2017   /   appraisal business, appraisal classes, Strange homes, unusual home   /   Leave a comment
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Take Pet Pampering to the Next Level with These Fabulous Dog Houses

Just For Fun!!

Excerpt: Dog owners are infamous for providing their furry ones with a better lifestyle than their own. For instance, you might recall the time Paris Hilton had a replica of her mansion done for her pet Chihuahua.
We don’t need to go there, but there are definitely plenty of crazy options in the market. Who knows, one of them might catch your fancy.
Check out Mediterranean Villa, Victorian and 2 Mansions.

My comment: check out the fotos!! Wonder what my cat would think about these Dog Houses? I need a Big Cat House, way up high on a pedestal, with mice ;>

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Pets and Homebuying – Animals are family members

2017 NAR survey
Excerpts:
Among pet-owning homeowners who responded to NAR’s survey, 99 percent said they did indeed view their animals as a family member… Eighty-nine percent said they would not give up their pet in deference to housing restrictions or limitations. Nineteen percent said they would consider moving to accommodate their pet, and 12 percent said they have actually done so.

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